Thai PM seeks $162m budget for water projects

BANGKOK - The Thai Prime Minister's trip to flood-prone areas ended on Friday and she planned to seek about 162 million US dollars for more than a hundred projects to prevent flood this year.

Expressing confidence that this year's flood-prevention plan will be more efficient than last year, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Friday that she will seek an additional budget of about 5 billion baht or 162 million US dollars to implement 117 water management projects from the Cabinet next week, the Thai News Agency reported.

From Monday to Friday, Yingluck visited upstream, midstream and downstream areas to review the flood solving progress and go over the plan, budget, problems and solutions of projects implemented under the Flood Recovery and Restoration Committee and the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management to help flood victims.

Speaking at a news briefing on the last day of her five-day trip to provinces hit by last year's flooding, Yingluck concluded the trip at Ayutthaya's city hall where she earlier convened a meeting with officials from seven downstream provinces to discuss water management and flood prevention issues.

Concluding her trip, the premier said reforestation is one of the measures to be focused on for upstream provinces to slow down water flow. In the 14 midway provinces, water flow will be managed through waterway networks and canals will be dredged.    

In addition, a water-retention area with a capacity to hold 5 billion cubic meters of water will be acquired with least affect to residential areas.      

Regarding the seven downstream provinces, the premier stated the need to protect both key business zones and industrial zones.

During the flood crisis last year, at least five industrial estates in downstream provinces were inundated by flood water.

Water will be diverted through the eastern and western reaches of the Chao Phraya River system. Water pumps will be installed, dykes will be strengthened and damaged sluice gates will be repaired to ensure the fast flow of water into the sea.        

Surveillance cameras to be installed at all sluice gates and a satellite reconnaissance system will be used to evaluate and forecast water flows, the prime minister said.

She pledged that all the tasks will be completed within three months ahead of the rainy season.

After her upcountry tour, the premier planned to inspect sluice gates in the capital next week.

During July-December 2011, Thailand faced the worst-flood crisis in nearly 50 years. The flood affected more than 10 million people.